Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-03-17


South Florida. Tampa is quite u
business point, being connected with
the North and East by rail and with
New Orleans and Cuba by ocean
steamers on the Gulf. Tampa is
rapidly growing. 1t is the county
seat of Hillsborough county and will
doubtless be one of the leading cities
of Florida within u short time.
This portion of the state, all south
Of the 2Sth degree of north latitude,
may truly be called tropical Florida.
The orange can be, and is success
fully and profitabIy grown IS far
north as ST. Augustine, but if one
desires to select location for fruit
growing, the farther south, the het-
ter.
Every mile toward the north is a
step nearer danger. The northern
part of the state is not safe, even for
oranges, and the more tropical fruits
cannot be grown there at all.
In South Florida, in addition to
the orange, the fruit grower can grow
lemons, lines, bananas, pine apples,
and long list of other fruits, most
of which are as profitable as the
orange, and come into bearing much
earlier.
One does not see Florida proper
tropical Florida--until the central
and southern portion of the state ls
reached. The northern part is not
far enough north for our method of
general farming, nor is it far enough
south to be safe for tropical fruit grow
ing.
To all desiring to locate in the
state l would say, get we'll down into
the state. Avoid the northern part.
if you wish to grow tropical fruits
successfully.
An orange grove in full fruit, or
full blossom, Is beautiful sight The
tree is beautiful evergreen, and
vigorous grower. The perfume of
its blossoms is very sweet, and can
be smelled long distance.
| Concerning the sandy soil, (and
the entire state is so,) it is "a bitter
pill to swallow" but after travelling
over the state, and seeing what
vigorous growth of tropical trees and
fruits it produces, and vegetables,
melons and berries in abundance, it
redeems itself.
The main thing which should in
terest person intending to make his
living from the soil should be, what
will it produce, and not so much how
does it look?
After prejudice has been laid aside,
we see much to admire. The sandy
soil makes the country much more
healthy than it would be with soil
like ours, and, too, is better suited to
production of the tropical fruits that
grow there so abundantly.
The numberless lakes and rivers
throughout the state, and the Atlantic
Ocean on one side and the Gulf of
Mexico on the other, keep the tenn
perature of the state so regulated
that they have extremes of neither
heat nor cold, but a mild delightful
winter, equal to our May weather,
and summer no hotter than ours.
From Tampa, we took carriages for
Clear Water Harbor, a little place
about 25 miles west, and located on
the Gulf of Mexico.
The place, Clear Water Harbor,
our party were unanimous in pro-
nouncing the prettiest town we saw
in Florida, and the most pleasant
place to live.
The soil is first-class, and will pro.
duce all the tropical fruits that can
be grown in the state.
From its location on the coast, il
, is always famed with cool breezes
from the Gulf. It has a beautiful
bluff like front along the beach, nice
ly wooded, and rising rapidly to an
elevation of 80 to 40 feet.
There is nothing like it elsewhere
, in Florida, and ''water fronts" or
this beach are much to he desired
+, and are beng rapidly bought up fol
summer and winter home sites.
4 The arbor is formed by a series O
keys, or islands, which are about l.
= miles from, and parallel with The
beach. The waters of the Gulf
y breaking on these islands, leave ,
G quiet harbor within for smalle
| steamers and vessels.
e There were 200 barrels of fsl
@ shipped from this point last year.
They have regular steamer con
q nection with Cedar Keys, aud rail
- road, now being built, will doubles
0 reach Clear Water Harhor within
e the present year. There is certainl
no healthier place in the state
u Returning to Tampa, we took car
u for Sanford, via Kissimmee. At San
q ford We took steamer down the S,
It Johns to Jacksonville, and from ther
home, without stop, making the tri
!, from Jacksonville to Mexico in tw
e days and FIVE hours.
l. / have written much more than
IT intended, and doubtless much tha
IS will be uninteresting.
IS Cut out such portions as you thin
l. IA Il